After playing in 229 La Liga matches for Real Madrid, Ivan Helguera felt his was unceremoniously cast aside with little respect and is now letting his feelings be known.  Having a go at Supremo Ramon Calderon on Sporting Director Pedrag Mijatovic was well worth it to the Valencia defender after Helguera was forced to train with the youth squad after having his #6 was given to the arriving Mohamadou Diarra.

He did return to the first 11 later in the year, starting 21 times before leaving for Valencia where he’s featured in every match since his arrival.   The 32 year old has seemed to have flourished under the loyalty showed to him at the Mestalla.

Image via ElPias

When Dutchman Ronald Koeman took helm of La Liga club Valencia in December, he immediately axed prominent players Miguel Angel Angulo, Santiago Canizares and Captain/Spanish International David Albelda.  After being told he would never again feature in the 11, Albelda went to the press begging to be released from his just newly signed contract in the summer.  Today Valencia offered to compensate the midfielder and allow him to leave ONLY if he signs an agreement that he won’t sign with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Villareal or Atletico Madrid.  Obviously Albelda turned the demand down and it now looks as though the player and club will head to court over $40 million in compensation.

image via Sport24

Even though Ronald Koeman took over only 2 1/2 months ago, Valencia’s results have been miserable with losses and key players benched. Could Jose Mourinho be on his way to Spain since his termination agreement with Chelsea forbade him from managing in England for the rest of this season?

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Since taking over at Valencia, Dutchman Ronald Koeman has dropped captain David Albelda, Santiago Canizares and Miguel Angulo from the squad all together.  That was in November and now after dropping 7 La Liga matches in a row and the press breathing down his neck, Koeman has ordered that a wall be built.  Does he think he’s the 21st century Chairman Mao?  Koeman wants more privacy at Paterna, Valencia’s training ground and when Koeman says jump..

This story isn’t that well known in the United States, but Spanish International David Albelda is threatening to take Spanish club Valencia to court over his falling out with new head coach Dutchman Ronald Koeman.

Koeman, the feisty former Dutch midfielder who took the Valencia job in the summer of 2007, has dropped Albelda, keeper Santiago Canizares and Miguel Angel Angulo for reasons Koeman has decided to keep private. But the former captain Albelda isn’t having any of it. After both he and Canizares signed contract extensions in the summer, both are desperate to quit the Mestalla and ready to go to the courts in order to get released from his contract as the club has said publicly that they won’t sell anyone.

This from his agent;

“The intent of the player was to reach a friendly agreement, but just as nobody actually informed him that he’d been discarded by the coach and president, the club ignored our request last week and, as of today, we have no response to our willingness to negotiate.”

“We should keep in mind that [David] is an employee with the same rights as any other employee,” the 30-year-old’s lawyer Francisco Giuillem informed Marca.

“David knows that this measure is not being taken against Valencia the club, but rather those within it that make the decisions.

“If the player was very hurt and upset by the decision to isolate him from the team, then the lack of response to the questions and faxes of the past 26 days have puzzled him, and he’s faced with a situation that he does not believe he deserves either as a player or as team captain in recent years.”